Looking into oneself
by timeturningchic66
Summary: A HarryHermione story where they slowly fall in love.
1. Chapter 1

Harry flopped onto his twin size bed and sighed. He was missing his friends already. Though Hogwarts had just released its students for the summer, they still had quite a bit of homework to do over their summer vacation. Harry started his homework the day after he got back from Hogwarts because seventh year was to be the toughest yet. He was also listening to Hermione's advice that she always gave him; _Never put it off to the last minute. _He could imagine her lecturing him and Ron about not doing their homework. By third day of vacation, he still didn't have half of it done yet. Harry began to pack up his homework; he needed to take a much needed break from his work as the phone rang downstairs.

"Boy, you have telephone call," barked Uncle Vernon.

_It's probably Hermione _thought Harry to himself as he trudged down the stairs. Ron learned to stay away from fellyfone, as he so called it, because of that phone call years ago. Hermione was also one of his few muggle-born friends. He took the phone from Uncle Vernon and Uncle Vernon muttered, "Make it quick talking to your freaky girlfriend."

Harry thought of Hermione right away and the thought made him a little uncomfortable. He wasn't supposed to think about her like that; she was one of his best friends. He was about to think more about why that thought made him uncomfortable when Hermione broke his train of thought.

"Harry, are you there?" she inquisitively asked.

"Yeah, I am. I was just thinking about something. Now, what was it you called me for?" Harry answered.

"Well, before we left school, I talked to Dumbledore. I asked him how long you had to stay at your aunt and uncle's house. He told me you only have to stay there for three days for the blood protection spell to work. Seeing that the Weasley family is on vacation in Romania visiting Charlie, because of Arthur's raise, I thought you would like to get out of that house as soon as possible," explained Hermione.

"Well, I asked my parents and they have given permission for you to come to my house for the remainder of the summer," she explained. "I called to ask you if you want to."

Before Harry could answer, she clarified a few things that she thought Harry might wonder regarding his stay.

"There will be Aurors patrolling the house at all times. Our post will be gone through. You will have your own room. We can't go many places but I know you are a pretty private person anyway. I do want to try to go to a few places though if that's ok."

Harry was thinking this couldn't come at a better time.

"Of course I want to stay at your house, anything is better than staying at the Dursleys' house. When will you pick me up?" Harry exclaimed.

"My parents and I will pick you up at five o'clock with our car today," replied Hermione.

Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes and hung up. Harry sighed and went to tell Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon when he was going. Uncle Vernon's response was as expected.

"Finally, we get rid of you, you ungrateful maggot," Vernon said smirking.

"Good because I am never coming back," Harry retorted.

He went to his room and finished as much homework as he could. For some reason, he wanted to impress Hermione. He fed his faithful owl, Hedwig, whose cage was on his cheap looking desk. Harry looked at his bare walls and heaved a sigh and then started packing his trunk that stood at the end of his bed. After he put the quills he had left, parchment, ink, and other miscellaneous things he had accumulated over the years, he came across a photograph he hadn't seen for a long time. He had forgotten he even had it. The picture had Hermione, Harry, and Ron in it. Hermione was hugging Harry and they were both laughing. Ron was standing right next to them with his arms crossed, but he was still smiling too. Harry beamed at the picture.

Harry finished packing and took a quick shower. He tried flattening his hair after the shower but it didn't work as usual. He was lugging his trunk down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Dudley answered the door and left, holding his buttocks, after he saw it was Harry's scary friend. Harry was in front of his trunk going backwards down the precariously steep stairs. When he heard the doorbell he began to hurry down the stairs, a huge mistake as it turned out. The weight of his trunk slammed into his stomach; sending him flying down the last seven steps and onto his back with an "umff". Hermione whipped out her wand and shrank his trunk before it landed on top of Harry and could cause anymore damage. Harry had the wind knocked out of him and his eyes were closed; when he could breathe correctly again he dared to open them.

Hermione's chocolate colored eyes looked into his majestic green eyes.

"Hey, there," whispered Harry.

"Are you all right?" Hermione whispered back to Harry.

"Yeah, I guess I am," said Harry.

She held out her hand to help Harry up. He willingly took her hand and stood. Hermione picked his now small trunk up and put it in her pocket. Harry yelled out goodbye for the last time to the Dursley's who didn't answer.

"Wow, it feels good to get out of that house!" exclaimed Harry.

They walked down the walkway towards Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Tonks.

"Wotcher, Harry," said Tonks.

Mrs. Granger, a dainty, but sturdy woman with curly brunette hair and blue eyes, right away knew she liked Harry and gave him a big hug. Mr. Granger was a tall man with wavy dirty blonde hair and Hermione's chocolate brown eyes. He looked questioningly at Harry. He looked over Harry and put a smile on his face. The two males shook hands and then got into the car. The car, looking almost brand new, was forest green and had a leather interior. Mr. Granger got into the driver's seat and Mrs. Granger got into the passenger seat. Tonks, Harry, and Hermione, all had to fit in the back seat. It was about a two hour drive to her house, and the two friends talked for the first hour. At the midpoint of the trip, they stopped in a small town to have dinner.

A/N: Please review! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

They got out of the car and walked towards the restaurant. Tonks was in her Auror mode, looking for any strange activity. Harry held open the door for Hermione, being the gentlemen he was. Harry saw Mr. Granger pull out his wife's chair so she could sit. Harry thought he should do the same thing with Hermione's chair.

"Thank you, Harry," said Hermione with a peculiar look on her face.

The waiter brought them water and took their orders and rushed back to fill them. While they waited, Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Tonks sipped on their waters. Hermione reached for her water, but spilled it. It spilled mainly on Harry's lap. He jumped up trying to dry it.

"Ohh Harry, I am so sorry ," exclaimed Hermione, red filling her cheeks.

Harry thought she looked like she was going to cry and wondered why it embarrassed her so much. _Accidents happen _he thought.

"It's ok, Hermione," said Harry.

Hermione did a drying spell when she knew no muggle was looking. They finished their meal and got back on the road again. The last hour of their car ride was quiet until Tonks started telling some jokes. They all laughed at them and that broke the icy silence.

"This is it" Hermione said a tad nervously to Harry as they pulled onto a blacktop driveway. It was a long winding driveway that led up to a large, blue three-story house. Harry thought it looked like a mansion because it was much larger than the Dursley's house. It was about twenty minutes outside of London, far enough away from the city, but close enough to Mr. and Mrs. Granger's dentist office. It got dark quickly as they unloaded the car. Mr. and Mrs. Granger said goodnight to Harry, Hermione, and Tonks because they had an early morning at work tomorrow. Hermione showed Tonks her room, close to Harry's room for his protection. She bid them a goodnight and went to sleep.

Hermione showed Harry his room last. She had picked the best room for him because she knew he would love the view. Outside the bay windows, there were many trees surrounding a decent size pond.

"Wow, Hermione!" exclaimed Harry," I love you, thank you."

She blushed as she took the trunk out of her pocket and enlarged it. Harry thought of the picture.

"Hey, Hermione?" asked Harry as he rummaged through his trunk.

"Yes, Harry," replied Hermione.

He found the picture and held it up," Do you remember when this was taken?"

"Yes, I think it was near the beginning of sixth year," answered Hermione, not looking Harry straight in the eye.

"Now, if you need me, I'll be straight across the hall," said Hermione quickly.

She hastily gave him a kiss on the cheek and departed to her room. Harry stared at the door questioning what the kiss was about. He dug out some pyjamas and decided to unpack the rest the next day. As he was getting ready to fall asleep, he wondered what tomorrow would bring.


	3. Chapter 3

A couple days passed and Harry had almost fully adjusted to the Granger's way of life. One morning Harry went downstairs to have breakfast and he was shocked to find Remus and Hermione talking downstairs.

"Hi, Harry," said Lupin,"Tonks invited me to stay for a few days because she is kind of lonely without another order member around."

Tonks bounded down the stairs after that moment and jumped into Remus's arms. He spun her around and then set her down. Remus and Tonks both had the biggest smile on their faces.

"They are together, aren't they?" whispered Harry not having a clue as usual.

"Yep, they got together last week sometime," answered Hermione.

"So, I take it Tonks missed him?" asked Harry.

Hermione nodded and headed towards the kitchen table. Harry followed her and just as they were both going to sit down, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Hermione said as the doorbell rang again.

After a couple of moments, Harry heard Hermione groan. He was interested in finding out what was distressing Hermione so much. Harry walked up behind Hermione and looked past her. He saw a little boy about twelve or thirteen with something he was hiding behind him. Harry made a little noise that sound similar to a chuckle. That little sound made Hermione spin around quickly. She was about to lose her balance when Harry steadied her by putting his hands around her waist. She looked into his imposing green eyes and gave him a pleading look.

"Please, work with me," whispered Hermione slipping away from Harry's hands.

Harry gave a small nod and walked the short ways towards the door. He stood behind her. Hermione's next move shocked him to say the least. Hermione reached behind her and grabbed Harry's hands. She put his hands around her waist and then leaned back against Harry.

"Hi, Joey," said Hermione," what do you have for me this time?"

"Oh, just some wildflowers that reminded me of you, Hermione," replied Joey.

"Harry, dear, can you put these in a vase?" inquired Hermione.

Even though only a few moments had passed, Harry had felt quite content with Hermione in his arms. So content, that Hermione had to ask him a second time to put the flowers in a vase. He heard her the second time so he nodded and then went off to put them in a vase. He really wanted to throw them away because he hated that a little boy had a crush on Hermione. When he came back, Hermione gave Harry a small peck on the lips and said while winking," Thanks, hon."

When Hermione looked back at Joey, she saw that his jaw had dropped. Joey, a brown hair, brown eyed boy, looked close to tears. In sixth year, Harry found out he could read bits and peaces of people's minds. Harry was curious to see what little Joey was thinking.

'I am going to win Hermione, no matter how longs it takes.' Thought Joey.

Harry thought that Joey was a little too determined. Hermione said goodbye as nicely as she could. Harry and Hermione came back inside for a while. Later that day, they went outside and hung out. They swam for a little bit. During their swim at one point, Harry scared Hermione by popping out of the water. She shrieked and then jumped at him, trying to dunk him. Harry grinned as he sputtered water because this was the most fun he had had in his life, but soon some of that happiness would be gone.


	4. Chapter 4

With frequent visits from Joey, Harry's jealousy of the little boy became worse and worse. He tried to ignore his jealousy by teaching Hermione to fly at night. A week after he started teaching Hermione to fly, she thought she was ready for a flight in which she would control the broom. After much begging from Hermione, Harry finally gave in. A couple nights later, Hermione knocked on Harry's door and with a confident look on her face, she drug Harry outside. Outside she had the broom all ready to go. She sat Harry down on the broom and sat down in front of him.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Harry asked with skepticism.

She nodded and took off. Going off into the dark blue sky, Harry was impressed by her flying. All of a sudden Hermione became dizzy and fell.

Harry tried grabbing her before she left the broom completely, but he couldn't seize any of her clothes. Harry taking full charge of the broom, he made it go faster than it had ever had in the poor broom's history. He heard nothing but the wind howl as he caught Hermione right before she hit the ground. He lowered them down to the ground completely. Hermione was coming out of her daze, but Harry didn't want her to try walking. He lifted her up and told her to put her arms around his neck. He carried her to the Granger's little two person swing. He sat her down and then he sat down beside her. She laid her head down in his lap which stunned him immensely. She looked up and looked up into his eyes with amazement.

"Thank you for saving me Harry," Hermione said," you have a tendency of doing that."

"You know I'd do anything for you, you're one of my best friends," said Harry, not looking her straight in the eye.

With Harry's comment, she looked away. "I should have told you that I have been battling with low blood pressure for many years.

She continued with, "It usually just makes me dizzy, but with all the excitement from flying, it was almost too much and made me pass out."

"That's ok, I'm just glad you weren't hurt," sighed Harry looking up at the night sky.

She laid there and looked up at the stars, thinking: _I am hurt that you don't see me as more than a friend, Harry. _As time went by, Harry didn't see that lone tear travel down her cheek. When they decided to go inside, Harry grabbed her hand.

"I want to make sure you make it inside without getting too dizzy," said Harry, hoping Hermione wouldn't see through his lie.

He just wanted to hold her hand because he was developing feelings for her. They walked past Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were in the living room. They saw the two holdings hands and gave knowing looks to each other. Harry and Hermione parted ways to get into their pyjamas. Harry, getting done first, waited outside Hermione's door. (They said goodnight to each other every night in the hall.) When Hermione opened the door and saw Harry, she gasped. Harry was holding a stunning looking wildflower.

"This is for letting me in on more of your life," Harry said handing the flower to her.

He told her goodnight and gave her a kiss on the forehead. What Harry didn't notice when he went into his bedroom was Hermione standing in the doorway with a taken aback look on her face.

As the summer was ending, Joey came around less and less for he knew she would go away to her boarding school. Ron sent them an owl to ask them if they wanted to meet him at Diagon Alley. Hermione and Harry were never going to pass up a chance to go to Diagon Alley or hang around with their best friend, Ron. The day they went, Hermione and Harry packed their things and wondered about the summer's events between them.

"Come on, Harry," cried Hermione," Mum and Dad are waiting."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," said Harry.

A/N: I need some ideas and some names for some more new characters.


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